Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fabric covers for pivoted lids used in water closet construction, and more particularly, to covers of the type which cover the water closet lid on both sides with fabric panels, and are removable from the lid for laundering and other purposes.
Brief Description of the Prior Art
A number of types and covers have been heretofore proposed for the purpose of improving the aesthetics of water closet lids, or improving sanitation, or both. Covers for water closet lids have been of various types, but have generally included at least one panel made of various materials ranging from paper to cloth, and extending across and over the upper surface of the lid at the time that the lid is closed. Many of these types of lid cover have not included a second or bottom panel which covers the exposed under side of the lid at such time as the lid may be elevated by pivoting it to its upstanding or upraised position.
In some of the more recent types of water closet lid cover, a double panel lid cover structure has been provided which aesthetically covers both the upper and lower surfaces of the lid with some type of fabric panel, and thus provides an attractive appearance to the lid, whether it is raised or lowered. In some of these structures, a zipper is provided around the periphery of the cover at the location where the side edges of the upper and lower panels of the cover are joined to each other, so that a sufficiently large opening can be provided between the upper and lower panels to permit the cover to be quickly and easily placed in position on the water closet lid. A problem with the zipper construction is that it considerably increases the cost of the lid cover and, more importantly, presents a rusting problem at times when the lid is laundered. Moreover, zippers are, of course, subject to malfunction and, in general, afford no flexibility in the size of the interior space defined within the double paneled covers after the zipper is closed. Such covers are therefore incapable of accommodating lids of differing sizes and shapes.
Other types of water closet lid covers heretofore proposed have employed double panel covers which have a relatively large opening at one end thereof to permit the water closet lid to be inserted between the panels of the cover. The periphery of the opening is then provided with a drawstring which can be pulled taut to close the opening once the cover is placed on the lid. The opening as thus provided is located adjacent the hinge structure at the rear edge of the lid. Frequently, the drawstring type of closure of this opening results in bunching and wrinkling of the fabric at this location, and an unsightly appearance is effected which is perceptible both when the lid is raised and the lower panel of the cover is in view, as well as when the lid is closed to expose the upper panel.
A problem encountered in attempting to eliminate the flexible drawstring effect is that a sufficiently large opening must be provided at the hinged side of the lid cover to permit the largest dimension of the water closet lid to pass through this opening when the cover is placed in position on the lid. Due to the near universal construction of water closet lids in an elliptical or nearly circular disk-shaped configuration, the largest transverse dimension of such lids is generally near the center thereof, and therefore the opening provided at the hinged side of the lid covers must be large enough to permit this wide portion of the lid to pass through such opening as the cover is placed in position. After the cover is installed, the opening at the hinge side of the cover is, of course, substantially wider then the actual edge of both lid and cover at the location of the opening, thus necessitating the use of the drawstring or, in some instances, an elastic band, in order to pucker the lid and draw the opening closed about the lid at this location.
The problem of providing a sufficient opening at one side of the cover to permit the lid to be inserted in the cover when mounting the cover has been aggravated by the fact that the lids which are provided in the various water closet structures now manufactured vary in their size and geometric configuration, thus making it difficult to provide a single opening at one side of the lid cover which is suitable for the accommodation of lids of all sizes and shapes. Therefore, it has been necessary to either tolerate a loose and unsightly installed lid cover on certain relatively small water closet lids, or simply to be unable to use a particular fabric cover on relatively large lids which cannot be inserted through the opening in the cover.